1,3-Butadiene is used as an intermediate in producing petrochemical products and demand therefor and value thereof are gradually increasing throughout the world. Such 1,3-butadiene is produced by naphtha cracking, direct dehydrogenation of butene, oxidative dehydrogenation of butene, or the like. However, since a naphtha cracking process has high energy consumption due to high reaction temperature and a problem that other basic oils other than 1,3-butadiene are produced in a surplus because the process is not highly selective for 1,3-butadiene. In addition, direct dehydrogenation of n-butene is not only thermodynamically disadvantageous, but also requires high-temperature and low-pressure conditions for the production of 1,3-butadiene with high yield due to being an endothermic reaction. Accordingly, direct dehydrogenation of n-butene is not suitable for industrial production of 1,3-butadiene.
Meanwhile, oxidative dehydrogenation of butene is a reaction in which butene and oxygen react with each other in the presence of a metal oxide catalyst to produce 1,3-butadiene and water. Since stable water is produced by the reaction, the reaction is thermodynamically advantageous. In addition, oxidative dehydrogenation of butene is exothermic, unlike direct dehydrogenation of butene, 1,3-butadiene may be obtained in a high yield even at a low reaction temperature as compared to direct dehydrogenation. Further, since oxidative dehydrogenation of butene does not require additional heat supply, it may become an effective stand-alone production process to meet demand for 1,3-butadiene.
The metal oxide catalyst is generally synthesized by a precipitation method and, in the precipitation method, the pHs of an aqueous metal oxide precursor solution, an aqueous basic solution, and a coprecipitation solution and the like are important synthesis variables. Accordingly, the precipitation method has problems such as a complex preparation process and poor reproducibility.
Therefore, there is a need for a simple catalyst preparation method capable of securing reproducibility.